Reel Paddling Film Festival Tonight In Lake Placid

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail and Adirondack Lakes and Trails are co-hosting the Reel Paddling Film Festival tonight, April 8, at 7 pm at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts. The award-winning films tell stories about canoeing, kayaking, and the privilege of having wild places to paddle.

Film themes include kayaking the Aleutians and a multi-sport adventure on Baffin Island. One of the feature films, Paddle for the North, tells the story of a six-man expedition team and their 1,500-kilometer journey through the Yukon and Peel river watersheds.

There will be a free raffle at intermission, and a chance to get tickets for NFCT’s season-long raffles for a Northstar Polaris tandem canoe and a Placid Boatworks Spitfire solo canoe.

NFCT’s showings are co-sponsored by NRS, maker of innovative paddling apparel and accessories. Festival proceeds support the Northern Forest Canoe Trail which maintains paddler access and campsites along its route in New York along the Fulton Chain of Lakes and the Raquette and Saranac rivers to Lake Champlain.

The Lake Placid Center for the Arts is located at 17 Algonquin Drive in Lake Placid. Doors open at 6 pm and screenings begin at 7 pm.

People looking to find out more about NFCT summer programs and events, or volunteer for them, can show up early to talk with staff, including recently hired Community Outreach Coordinator Mike Lynch. The NFCT runs two summer trips in the Adirondacks for youth aged 10 to 14 years through its Northern Forest Explorers program.

In addition, NFCT is hosting a paddling festival in Saranac Lake on June 10-11. The Paddlers Freshet Fest will include clinics, guided trips and evening presentations. Tickets will be on sale at the film festival. The event is one of several that the NFCT will host in Saranac Lake with Adirondack Lakes and Trails and St. Regis Canoe Outfitters during the month of June.

Film festival tickets are $12 in advance online here, in person or by phone at Adirondack Lakes & Trails Outfitters in Saranac Lake (518) 891-7450 and Lake Placid Center for the Arts (518) 523-2512, or $15 at the door. The student rate is $12.

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail is the longest inland paddling trail in the nation and runs from Old Forge, through Vermont, Québec, and New Hampshire to Fort Kent, Maine following ancient Native American travel routes. For more information on NFCT, visit their website.